Zimbabwe created the shock result in the first day's play of the
Emirates Dubai International Sevens after the fourth ranked East Africans
upset the seedings to win their group.

It was a magnificent performance by Zimbabwe who disposed of Canada,Wales and border neighbours South Africa to finish top of their table.

Zimbabwe have progressed steadily but at Dubai they came of age with world
class performances from stars Victor Olonga and Karl Mudzamba that helped to
defeat the Springboks by 26-24, Canada 21-19 and Wales 36-12.

But even such an inspired display may not prevent tournament favourites New
Zealand from successfully defending their title. Over the first day of play
the All Blacks simply toyed with their opponents , posting wins over England
by 40-7, Arabia Gulf by 42-0 and Georgia by 54-10.

The main challenge will come from the new-look Fiji side that cruised past
Samoa and Hong Kong before defeating the impressive Argentinians by 33-5.

Elsewhere Australia had little difficulty in winning their group with wins over Samoa, Hong Kong and Kenya.

Of the home unions it will be England who will carry the flag in the Trophy
quarter finals where they will meet Fiji with a likely exodus beckoning. If
that is the outcome then England will go into the semi-finals of the Plate
competition.

England, after achieving wins over the Arabian Gulf and Georgia, then faced
tournament favourites New Zealand in their final tie and for the first half
confirmed coach Adrian Thompson's view that his side was improving with each
round.

"I was very pleased that we were down by only 12-7 at half time after seeing
what New Zealand had done to other teams. Obviously I was not happy with the final score but I think that was down to fitness".

England's try against New Zealand was scored by Mark Sowerby of Wakefield and
converted by English Student team member Jon Fabian.

Ireland , meanwhile, will meet the Arabian Gulf in the quarter finals of the Bowl competition after finishing third in their group today with a win over Morocco and defeats by Fiji and Argentina.

The Irish seven competed well against Argentina before losing 26-19,
then showed their skills with a 24-19 win over a Morocco side that has performed well in international tournaments in the past twelve months.

Against Morocco, Ireland led 19-0 at half time with two tries by Matt Mostyn
and one by James Topping and two conversions by teenager Gavin Duffy, an
impressive performer for the Irish side.

Then, after Morocco had scored twice, Killian Keane settled the tie for Ireland with an unconverted try in the corner to give the Irish side a 24-19 victory.

The other home union representative , Wales, will meet Hong Kong in the
quarter finals of the Bowl competition after finishing fourth in their group
yesterday in a disappointing day for Welsh rugby.

For Wales this was another step towards learning the techniques of the sevens
game. Against South Africa Wales were down by just 14-7 at half time after
Craig Warlow had converted a try by Richard Rees.

But the South Africans ensured victory in the tie with two quick tries after
the break before Wales reclaimed some pride with a late touchdown by David
Weatherley, converted by Warlow.

In their tie against Canada Warlow and Weatherley were the try scorers as
Wales went down 31-14 to the North Americans whose form at Dubai suggests
that they have made big progress in the last year.

Wales'final tie was against Zimbabwe whose sheer pace took them to a 31-0
scoreline at half time. Then when the score increased to 36-0 Wales staged a late revival to score through Richard Johnson and Andy Williams.

Emirates Dubai Sevens Results Day 1

Pool A New Zealand 54 Georgia 10, England 27 Arabian Gulf 0, New Zealand 42 Arabian Gulf 0, England 33 Georgia 12, Georgia 31 Arabian Gulf 7, New
Zealand 40 England 7.

Pool B Australia 54 Hong Kong 0, Samoa 40 Kenya 0, Australia 45 Kenya 0,
Samoa 35 Hong Kong 12, Hong Kong 21 Kenya 12, Australia 29 Samoa 0.

Pool C Fiji 56 Ireland 0, Argentina 24 Morocco 14, Fiji 43 Morocco 0,
Argentina 26 Ireland 19, Ireland 24 Morocco 19, Fiji 33 Argentina 5.

Pool D South Africa 24 Wales 14, Zimbabwe 21 Canada 19, Zimbabwe 26 South Africa 24, Canada 31 Wales 14, Zimbabwe 36 Wales 12, South Africa 28 Canada 17.

Draw for second day

Emirates Trophy Quarter finals New Zealand v Argentina, Zimbabwe v Samoa,
Australia v South Africa, Fiji v England.

Emirates Bowl Quarter finals Georgia v Morocco, Canada v Kenya, Hong Kong v
Wales, Ireland v Arabian Gulf.